Governor's office seeks to defend Guam's large delegation to San Francisco
Updated: 3 minutes ago
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The Office of the Governor of Guam sought to defend the large delegation currently in San Francisco for "high-stakes talks" with federal officials regarding the impact of the military buildup on Guam.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero is leading a 32-member delegation to an "unprecedented federal engagement" that involves 100 federal participants and 24 delegates from the CNMI.
“The total cost is still being compiled because the delegation includes multiple line and autonomous agencies with different accounting processes. We will provide that number when the accounting is complete," said John Ryan, communications director.
Describing the trip as "a serious investment in what Guam is trying to achieve," Ryan said the summit was "a rare opportunity to make that case directly to an extraordinary concentration of federal agencies and officials."
He said the individual working sessions required the presence of local agency leaders and technical experts responsible for those projects.
"Passing up an opportunity of this magnitude would have been a far greater failure," Ryan said. "We were asked to make Guam’s case for federal support for billions of dollars in critical needs—including affordable housing, underground power, a new hospital, roads, bridges and other infrastructure."
Ryan said direct engagement with federal agencies is necessary.
"We already know how Washington works: if you are not in the room when these decisions are being shaped, you cannot expect Guam’s interests to carry the day," he added
The talks come against the backdrop of aligning the buildup with local infrastructure and other priorities, including social, economic, and cultural impacts of what may go down as the largest outlay of money, hard military assets and personnel in the Pacific since World War II.
